From the U.S. intelligence community, to the role of religion in war, to planning a non-violent future, this semester's War and Peace lecture series at Sonoma State University explores a wide variety of topics.
Lectures are offered from 4-5:15 p.m. on Tuesdays through Dec. 4 in Warren Auditorium, Ives 101.
The public is invited to attend any of the following presentations. There is no charge for admission. However, a fee of $2.50 is required for parking on campus.
The schedule for the Fall semester includes:
Sept. 4 - "The Intelligence Community in a Democracy," Andy Merrifield, Professor of Political Science
Sept. 11 - "The Experience of War," John Wingard, Professor of Anthropology, SSU
Sept. 18 - Panel: "The Armaments Industry", Peter Phillips, Professor of Sociology and Director of Project Censored, and Robert Eyler, Professor of
Economics
Sept. 25 - "Civil Courage: The Strength of Coming to Terms," Dr Svetlana Broz, Physician and Author; co-sponsored by Education towards Courage and
Society of Living Traditions.
Oct. 2 - "Weapons of Mass Destruction," Lynn Cominsky, Professor of Physics/Astronomy
Oct. 9 - "Understanding War," Shepherd Bliss, Professor of Humanities
Oct. 16 - "Voices of Conscience," Colonel Ann Wright, US Army, US Department of State diplomatic corps
Oct. 23 - "The Case for the United Nations," Urs Cipolat, Peace Studies, UC Berkeley. (Chaplain James J. Lee will be speaking independently about his service at Guantanamo Bay)
Oct. 30 - "The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Personal Reflections", Therese Mughannam and Chuck Sher, Peace Activists and Bridge-Builder, with Laure Reichek, Holocaust Survivor
Nov. 6 - "The Role of Religions in War," Rashmi Singh, Professor of Peace Studies
Nov. 13 - "Are We Born to Fight?", Rick Luttmann, Professor of Mathematics, and Chuna McIntyre, Yup'ik Eskimo Cultural Ambassador
Nov. 20 - "War and Peace in the Arts," Tim Wandling, Professor of English and Chair of the Faculty, SSU
Nov. 27 - "Planning a Non-violent Future", Michael Nagler, UC Berkeley Peace Studies
Dec. 4 - "Peace Through Sustainability," Jason Mark, Global Exchange Board of Directors, San Francisco
For more information about the War and Peace lecture series or other programs, please contact Rick Luttmann at rick.luttmann@sonoma.edu or (707) 664-2543.
Small classes, an outstanding library and friendly students were just a few of the reasons Sonoma State University was chosen as one of Princeton Review's "Best 366 Colleges" for 2008.
In its profile, SSU is described as "a first-rate public-school education that allows them (students) to take a step back from the fast pace of the city without taking away the fun and activities and a rural campus that is very relaxing and beautiful - but also close enough to San Francisco and Sacramento to benefit from the activities these cities offer."
An outstanding undergraduate education is one of the main criteria for the Princeton Review's annual publication. Only 15% of the four-year colleges in America and two Canadian colleges were chosen for the book.
The ranking lists in the 2008 edition of "Best 366 Colleges" are based on the Princeton Review's survey of 120,000 students - about 325 per campus on average. SSU ranked in the following areas: Quality of Life, Fire Safety, Academics, Admissions and Financial Aid.
The profile also provides extensive quotes from SSU students surveyed by the Princeton Review for the book. Among their candid comments on campus life and academics: " 'it is a place to relax and get some peace in busy schedules;' a 'wonderful' psychology program; a business program that 'is very well put together, with very helpful...teachers'; and 'excellent health care and science majors' including a unique environmental management and design program."
Great computer facilities, palace-like dorms and overall student happiness were also mentioned frequently by SSU students. They also loved the fact that the small size of the school allows for "a very personal connection between the student and the professor."
Find out more about The Princeton Review's annual rankings on its Web site www.PrincetonReview.com.
- Reilly Nolan
Whether you fancy your style as grunge, chic, sophisticated, retro or outlandish, the upcoming costume sale at Sonoma State University will likely have that perfect garment to round out a wardrobe.
For five days from Aug. 22-25, the Evert B. Person stage on the SSU campus is transformed into one giant clothes rack. Actually 28 clothes racks to be exact. Sale schedule is: Wednesday, Aug. 22, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Thursday, Aug. 23, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 24, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Saturday, Aug. 25, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
"We've got renaissance, fantasy, a wedding dress, a rabbit's head and so much more. This is the largest sale the Costume Department has ever had and we have cleaned out the warehouse for this one," says Costume Shop director Pam Johnson. "We did such a good job that this is our last sale for at least three years."
If you want to be chic, check out the top hat, tails and sequin gowns. Leaning more to the outlandish, go with the blond wig and that sassy cocktail number with a feather boa. For sophisticates, there is a lovely ball gown with a wrap-around fur or a stylized suit.
Feeling grunge? Go with the old uniforms - Army, Navy and Marine - that will make a statement. For a little retro feel go with the cool ties and shoes, add a fabulous hat and the look comes together.
Parking at the University is free on the weekends and $2.50 during the week. The Evert B. Person Theatre is wheelchair accessible. The University is located at 1801 E. Cotati Ave., Rohnert Park.
For further information, contact Jean Wasp, Media Relations Coordinator, (707) 664-2057.
Extreme magnetic fields, the quantum enigma, solar energy production using techniques developed for space applications, nanostructured solar cells, and
carbon nanotubes are among the dozen topics to be discussed by speakers in the fall "What Physicists Do" public lecture series at Sonoma State University.
Lectures will be on Mondays at 4 p.m., from Aug. 27 through Nov. 26, in Room 103 in SSU's newly-remodeled Darwin Hall. Coffee, cookies, and conversation are available at 3:30 p.m.
The series will begin Aug. 27 with SSU's new physics professor, Jeremy Qualls, speaking on "The Attraction and Dangers of Extreme Magnetic Fields." Qualls will describe work he and his students will be doing in SSU's new magnet lab.
Two weeks later Fred Kuttner will speak on "Quantum Enigma: Reality, Entanglement, and Consciousness." Coauthor of a new book titled "Quantum Enigma: Physics Encounters Consciousness," Kuttner will describe observer-created reality and quantum entanglement. The book will be available for purchase at the lecture.
The challenging development of solar power concentrator technology will be the topic Sept. 17, when Michael Fulton, president of Ion Beam Optics, Inc., Thousand Oaks, will return to SSU to describe his work. Fulton received the
Distinguished Alumni award from SSU's Alumni Association last year.
Particle physics in the new century, with emphasis on the role of the top quark, will be the topic of UC Davis professor Robin Erbacher Sep. 24.
Oct. 4 marks the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the space age with the launch of Sputnik I. On Oct. 1, Sonoma author Douglas J. Mudgway will portray William H. Pickering, the physicist who directed NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in the 1960s and led America's response to the challenge.
SSU's new astronomy professor, Scott Severson, will speak on adaptive optics and how it provides a sharper view of the universe Oct. 8. Severson will lead the university's effort to build a new research observatory at the Galbreath
Wildlands Preserve in Mendocino County.
Johns Hopkins University astronomer Holland Ford will come to SSU Oct. 15 to speak on "The Search for Planets Around Low Mass Stars." Ford has been in charge of the main camera on the Hubble Space Telescope.
The discovery of single-wall carbon nanotubes will be described by renowned physicist Donald S. Bethune of IBM Almaden Research Center Oct. 22
One week later Stanford University physicist Mark Topinka will speak on a related topic, nanostructured solar cells.
Ali Shakouri, an award winning electrical engineering professor at UC Santa Cruz, will speak Nov. 5 on thermionic energy conversion for waste heat recovery.
The Hinode Solar Optical Telescope, a Japanese space mission with American participation, will be the topic Nov. 19 when Thomas Berger of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center comes to SSU.
The series concludes Nov. 26 with Maryam Modjaz of UC Berkeley describing the exploding stars called supernovae and their connection to gamma-ray bursts.
For a free poster describing all twelve lectures, see http://www.phys-astro.sonoma.edu/wpd/, send e-mail to phys.astro@sonoma.edu, or call (707) 664-2119.
The University Art Gallery, Sonoma State University, is pleased to announce an exhibition of prints, drawings and paintings by Masami Teraoka, an artist originally from Japan whose work pays homage to - and critiques - the traditions of both Japanese and European art.
Titled "Drawing on the Past/The Art of Masami Teraoka," the exhibition opens to the public on Thursday, Sept. 6 with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m., and remains on view through Sunday, Oct. 14.
"Weaving news media, reality, fantasy, visionary, imaginary and otherworldly reality with humor, line, form and color, commentary, topicality, and a high level of aesthetics is a challenge." says the artist. "I try to focus on current issues articulated on a metaphorical level rather than recreating a mere copy of reality."
Teraoka has painted about issues from gay marriage, American style confessions on TV talk shows, recent priests' confessions, politics, international affairs, censorship, invasion of privacy, gender, sexual preference, religious discrimination, the Impeachment Trial, Viagra, and AIDS to air and water pollution, toxic shock syndrome and American fast food and culture invading the world.
To tackle these contemporary issues, he reached into the past, basing his early paintings on Japanese Ukiyo-e or wood block prints. His current work has taken another direction, melding western aesthetics, religious and iconic themes from Renaissance.
Selected primarily from a private collection in Palo Alto, Drawing on the Past features more than 20 of Teraoka's best known watercolors, screenprints, and woodblock prints alongside a number of original 18th and 19th century ukiyo-e prints by such masters as Katsuchika Hokusai, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi.
In addition, the exhibition includes several large paintings, inspired in part by Renaissance compositions and recently shown at the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.
On Sept. 29, Masami Teraoka visits the University Art Gallery to discuss his work in conversation with Bay Area critic and writer Alison Bing. The program is free and open to the public.
Masami Teraoka was born in Onomichi, Japan, in 1936. He moved to Los Angeles in 1961, where he received his B.A. and M.F.A. from the Otis Art Institute. He currently lives and works in Hawaii.
Teraoka's work has been exhibited internationally and is in major private and public collections, including the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Walker Art Center. For further information on the artist, visit http://www.lava.net/~artbeat/.
The University Art Gallery is open to the public 11 am to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free and the Gallery is wheelchair accessible. A daily parking permit ($2.50) is required weekdays until 10 p.m.; parking on weekends is free.
For more information or other press materials, please call (707) 664-2295.
ABOVE, Los Angeles Sushi Ghost Tales/Fish Woman and the Artist,1979 watercolor on paper.
A Sonoma State University biology professor and his graduate student have teamed up with the City of Santa Rosa to investigate the potential use of algae to remove excess nutrients and other contaminants from municipal wastewater effluent.
Early this month treated wastewater began flowing through two parallel 400 square foot experimental scrubbers on the grounds of the city's Laguna Treatment Plant. The three-tiered, flow-through devices built by R.S. Duckworth Construction of Sebastopol are based on a smaller pilot scrubber design in operation since October 2006 under the supervision of SSU Assistant Professor of Biology Dr. Michael Cohen.
A presentation on the experimental scrubber system will be given to the City of Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities at 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 16 in the City Hall Council Chambers, 100 Santa Rosa Ave., Santa Rosa.
Like plants, algae remove nitrogen and phosphorus from their surroundings as they grow, sequestering these elements into their cells. "Our goal," says Cohen, "is to remove nutrients that would otherwise support unwanted growth of algae and aquatic plants in waterways that receive the effluent."
The scrubbers are designed to hold a standing crop of floating algal mats, termed metaphyton, that are harvested daily to maintain the algae in a constant growth phase and, thus, continuously remove nutrients from the water. "The flow rate will determine the concentration of nutrients removed," adds Cohen.
Algae are also able to bind other problem components in the wastewater effluent, such as copper, lead and nickel and some algae have the capacity to breakdown complex organic molecules including pharmaceutical drugs.
Algae harvested from the scrubbers are fed to on-site anaerobic digesters that produce methane, which is burned to generate electricity that helps to power the treatment plant.
City Project Development Manager Dell Tredinnick sees potential for this project to integrate with the city's other renewable energy programs. "Should experimental results demonstrate the viability of a larger system," says Tredinnick, "prior to feeding algae to the digesters, we would like to extract oils to produce biodiesel for fueling part of the city's vehicle fleet." Production of biodiesel from algal oils is an active area of research.
Catherine Hare, who helped to establish the wastewater scrubbing project in Cohen's laboratory, graduated magna cum laude from Sonoma State this spring and will be continuing to work on the project as a Master's student.
"Having a parallel system will allow us to change experimental conditions in one scrubber while keeping the other constant as a control," she says.
"Careful monitoring and analysis of scrubber performance will provide us with information necessary to determine whether scaling up is feasible. It's an exciting time to be involved in this research."
Given the go-ahead, project builder Bob Duckworth says he'd be ready to scale-up. "Algal scrubbers could be a relatively low-cost, low-tech solution to a 21st century problem," he says.
For more information, contact Professor Michael Cohen at (707) 664-3413.
Above, Biology Professor Michael Cohen at the edge of an algae-covered channel at the Laguna treatment plant in Santa Rosa.
